vegetable stock Archives - Haleo

Curried sweet potato soup

Haleo — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 09:44:02 +0000

This clean vegan soup near kills me, because it contains very few ingredients, but it is unbelievably delicious! It is particularly good to make when you are trying to ward off that lingering flu/cold and you want to build up your immune system (which is how this recipe was born).

It centres around one main ingredient – the sweet potato. The sweetness of this tuber, together with the curry powder, delivers an explosion of flavour as well as providing some amazing health benefits along the way.

Curcumin is the magical phytonutrient in turmeric, which is the main ingredient in curry powder and is a powerful antioxidant that can neutralise harmful cancer-causing free radicals, reduce inflammation, slow the growth of tumours and helps build up our immunity.

I like doubling this recipe so that I can freeze the left overs (which lasts well for up to 3 weeks). Enjoy!

Serves: 2 large serves (or 4 starter serves)

Ingredients

4 medium sized sweet potatoes (washed and peeled).
2 tbsp. coconut oil (melted)
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups vegetable stock
1½ tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Coriander (chopped to garnish)
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Chop the sweet potato into small chunks and place onto a lined baking tray.
Drizzle the coconut oil over the sweet potato and season with sea salt, pepper and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Using your fingers, massage the sweet potato in with the coconut oil and spices.
Roast for around 30 minutes or until the sweet potato is cooked and soft.
Place sweet potato into a blender, add vegetable stock, lemon juice and curry powder and blend until smooth.
Add another cup of water to adjust consistency.
Place in a medium pot and heat for a further 4-5 mins.
Serve and garnish with coriander.

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Mushroom stroganoff

Haleo — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 15:25:51 +0000

Growing up, beef stroganoff was one of my Gran’s signature dishes. I loved how warm and nourished I would feel afterwards and if I’m honest, I do miss it. But, as you will see at Haleo, we endeavour to replace old staples with other vege/cleaner alternatives, so we hope you like this one.

Taste wise, this creamy dish has an explosion of flavour thanks to the coconut milk, vegetable stock, smoked paprika and garlic. The spinach works as a good base with both the selenium-rich mushrooms and red onion whilst the walnuts add a real crunch to the dish. If you’re not a fan of walnuts, please feel free to leave out (but I think they really add something here). We love to serve this with cauliflower rice (but we add smoked paprika to the rice as it really gives it flavour).

Final tip: please ensure that you use good quality coconut milk (at least 75 percent coconut) and don’t forget to include our good friend the chia seed – as these bad boys help thicken the dish – just a little

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 punnets of mushrooms
1 red onion
4 cups spinach (tightly packed)
½ can coconut milk
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 garlic clove (crushed)
¾ cup walnuts (optional)
1 tsp. chia seeds
2 tbsp. coconut oil
Chilli flakes (optional)

Instructions

Cut the mushrooms into quarters followed by dicing the red onion.
Place a medium sized pot over a medium heat and melt 1 tbsp. of coconut oil. Add the red onion, crushed garlic and smoked paprika. Sauté until the red onion is soft and then empty the mixture into a small bowl and set aside.
Add a further tbsp. of coconut oil to the pot, followed by the mushrooms and gently saute until nice and juicy.
Mix the coconut milk with the vegetable stock and pour into the pot followed by the chia seeds.
Simmer for 10 mins on a low heat, stirring well. Add the walnuts, bowl mixture, then spinach and heat until the spinach is wilted. Add some chilli flakes if you fancy a bit of a kick!
Serve with cauliflower rice.

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Deliciously creamy broccoli soup

Haleo — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 09:10:07 +0000

My Gran was the soup queen back in New Zealand. She believed that a warm hearty soup was the answer to chilly winter’s night – real food for the soul. Even back then, Gran always made her soups from scratch with fresh seasonal produce.

This vegan friendly recipe celebrates the glorious brassica – the broccoli. This green gem has so many super-nutrients and is eaten in our household at least 4 times a week!

My Gran was also one of the only people who could make me eat my broccoli when I was a kid – so this hearty, nourishing soup is in honour of her!

The creaminess of this soup is achieved partly because of the chick peas – which I think works really well. This is a naturally thick dish – so please feel free to add water. It freezes well also (up to 3 weeks), so you can make up batches well in advance and pop them in the freezer to enjoy at a later date.

Serves: 2 (large serves) or 4 starter serves

Ingredients

1 medium broccoli head (cut into florets)
2 tbsp. coconut oil
1 medium red onion, (diced)
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water (optional)
1 can chick peas (rinsed well and drained)
1 tsp. chilli flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Steam broccoli until slightly tender and bright green. Place to one side.
Heat coconut oil in a medium pot over medium heat and saute red onion and garlic (for around 5 minutes).
Add chickpeas and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Add chilli flakes.
Remove from heat and place stock and chickpeas in a blender followed by the broccoli and puree until smooth. Add a cup of water if you find it to be too thick!
Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

The post Deliciously creamy broccoli soup appeared first on Haleo.

Sweet potato and lentil soup

Haleo — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 06:53:52 +0000

This vegan dish truly is ‘soup for the soul’. Packed to the brim with beta-carotene (thanks to the sweet potatoes and carrots) this clean soup is beyond nourishing. It is relatively simple to make and fragrant thanks to the magical herb thyme!

This herb has a long history of use in natural medicine in connection with chest and respiratory problems including coughs, bronchitis and chest congestion. The paprika gives this dish a light smoky flavour and it freezes well too!

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 large red onion (diced)
2 medium sized sweet potatoes (washed, peeled and chopped into cubes)
4 carrots (washed, peeled and roughly chopped)
4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tbsp. dried thyme
3 garlic gloves (crushed)
1 cup uncooked red lentils (rinsed thoroughly)
4 cups water
2 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp. smoked paprika
Sea salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Melt the coconut oil in a medium sized pot over a medium heat.
Add the red onion and garlic. Saute until the red onion is soft.
Add the sweet potatoes, carrots and thyme and cook for a few minutes, while stirring.
Add rinsed lentils, smoked paprika, water, vegetable stock and simmer on a low heat for around 20-25 minutes (until the vegetables and lentils are soft). Stirring occasionally.
Add soup to a blender and blend until smooth, add salt and pepper to taste. If you feel it’s too thick, add a bit more water.
Serve and finish with a sprinkle of smoked paprika and fresh thyme.

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Homemade vegetable stock

Haleo — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 11:40:46 +0000

In a perfect world, (where time was never an issue), I would try and make everything from scratch. This would include anything from my own almond milk through to my own vegetable stock. But, life happens though doesn’t it? We find ourselves running out of time and looking for ways to make our lives much more simpler. Although it’s easier for me to go out and buy organic veg stock cubes (rather than make my own), there is a simple pleasure which comes from making things yourself.

Vegetable stock is something I tend to use a lot, so during the weekend, I like to make just under 3 litres which will last in the fridge for the next week or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Make sure you have big enough containers to store the stock. When I keep mine in the fridge, I keep it in large jars.

Serves: Just under 3 litres

Ingredients

2 tbsp. coconut oil
2 red onions (cut into quarters)
3 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
1 celery stick (chopped)
3 carrots (chopped)
2 leeks (chopped)
1 fennel bulb (chopped)
4 bay leaves
15 parsley stems
6 back peppercorns
1 tsp sea salt

Instructions

Using a large pot, melt the coconut oil over a medium heat.
Add the celery, onion, garlic, carrot, leek and fennel.
Saute for about 5 minutes (until slightly soft).
Add the bay leaves, parsley stems, pepper, salt and 3 litres of water.
Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat so that it is very low, cover and gently simmer for around an hour.
Using a sieve, strain the stock and leave to cool.
Divide stock between your containers and either place in the fridge or freezer.

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